Contents: Volume 2
-
5th Sunday of Lent
Year A
March 26, 2023
1. --
Lanie LeBlanc OP
2. --
Dennis Keller
3. --
Brian Gleeson CP
4. --
Paul O'Reilly SJ
5.
--(Your reflection can be here!)
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1.
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Lent 5 A 2023
Our Gospel reading this fifth Sunday of Lent is the familiar
one about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. It is so rich
in symbolism! I think it also has a very practical side to
it and some important questions for us.
How did the gift of new life change Lazarus? What did he say
and do differently? Basically, how did he react to this
gift?
Although we have not yet been raised from physical death, we
have all been rescued (redeemed) from the depths of the
spiritual death of sin, actually many times by our God of
Many Chances! Most of the time, our sins are not "serious"
in the sense of being mortal sins. Even lesser sins,
however, damage our relationship with God. Can we actually
sit with the uncomfortable thought of being spiritually dead
and disconnected from God?
Our God continually seeks us, even when we stubbornly won't
even glance in the right direction. Our God is relentless.
Our God's love is unconditional.
Will you sit with the uncomfortable thought of allowing God
to raise you from spiritual decline, perhaps almost
spiritual death? If so, these waning days of Lent are a good
time to do so. Let us, each and every person, find the time
to receive this wonderful balm that God offers us again
either through sacramental confession or private reflection.
My favorite places for private reflection include on an
isolated sunny bench, or by the shore, or in front of the
Blessed Sacrament. The peace that follows reconciliation is
the best gift ever!
Blessings,
Dr.
Lanie LeBlanc OP
Southern Dominican Laity
lanie@leblanc.one
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2.
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Fifth Sunday of Lent March 25 2023
Ezekiel 27:12-14; Responsorial Psalm 130; Romans 8:8-11;
Gospel Acclamation John 11:25-26; John 11:1-45
What would you give to have half an hour with Lazarus? That
would be a chance to ask him about dying – what’s it like?
"Did you remain aware of what was happening? When you
finished the dying part, how was death? Were you still aware
of who, what, and where you found yourself? When Jesus
shouted at you to come out of the tomb, were you glad to
hear his voice? Was it all darkness? Did you have awareness,
mindfulness? Tell me!" No body ever came back to this world
after they died. That makes Lazarus some sort of celebrity,
source of information, sharer of experience. "Come-on! Spill
it for us who are afraid of the unknown. Is there a place?
Is there brightness and light? Did you see your folks?"
Apparently, if Lazarus spoke about his experience, it wasn’t
recorded. Perhaps the memory of his passing and death were
erased? While our curiosity would like some answers, that’s
not the point of John’s gospel.
Then there’s this: Martha seems to ignore Jesus’
proclamation that he is the resurrection and the life. She’s
fixated on the messiahship she is pretty certain about. That
messiahship was clear because of the signs Jesus worked.
Martha’s question was why didn’t you come when you knew your
friend and our brother was seriously ill? Why did you ignore
our messages? You healed others, why not your friend? Were I
Jesus, I would be a lot frustrated. Martha does not get it.
This is about more than messiahship whatever that might have
meant to Martha. "I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and
everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you
believe this?" Is Jesus asking us this question: "Do you
believe this?" Martha seems to misunderstand what Jesus just
said. Her response had nothing to do with life eternal. She
calls Mary. Mary repeats Martha’s conversation. John then
writes, "he became perturbed and deeply troubled." Even Mary
was thinking of Jesus as the miracle worker messiah.
John makes an issue of Lazarus being dead for four days. In
Jewish culture of the time, the belief was the spirit of a
person stayed close to the body for three days. It was clear
the body after three days would not be resuscitated. By then
decomposition would have become evident and the body no
longer available to the spirit of the person.
John writes about the "glory of God." "Did I not tell you
that if you believe you will see the glory of God?" The
notion of the glory of God is physical evidence of God’s
presence. Do you recall a few weeks ago when Jesus took the
three apostles to the top of a mountain and was transfigured
there? That is the glory of God. Funny thing: John in his
gospel does not include that incredible moment. Those who
study this believe John saw no need to include it, as the
whole life of Jesus was a revelation of God’s presence, of
the glory of God. And this moment at the tomb where Lazarus’
body lay bound in burial cloths, this is another
manifestation of God’s presence, God’s glory. Death will
never again be the same in the faith of the people of God.
Jesus asks his friends to be aware, be sensitive to what is
about to happen. This is more than a miracle. This is God
being present especially at the end of life. Jesus addresses
God directly. This raising of Lazarus is "that they may
believe that you sent me."
The gospel continue speaking about a meeting of the
Sanhedrin. Our reading this Sunday doesn’t include this, but
it is important to understand this as it has serious impact
on our coming two weeks. The chief priest, Caiaphas, sets
the scene. He addresses the Sanhedrin: "You know nothing at
all; you do not understand that it is expedient for you that
one man should die for the people and that whole nation
should not perish." And so planning to eliminate Jesus and
his message began the planning for arrest, judgment,
rejection, handing over to the Romans. All what we remember
in the week we call Holy.
Some writers interpret Jesus’ weeping as a sympathy for the
impact the death of Lazarus on the sisters. Others believe
Jesus’ weeping was out of frustration and concern that his
message and revelation of the Father wasn’t understood as
more than miracle working and wonderful preaching. Faith in
Jesus had not grown to an awareness of God beginning a new
creation. In the past two Sundays our gospels were taken
from John. A couple of weeks ago the narrative was about the
Samaritan Woman – whose name we never learned. As that
narrative came to a close, the gospel stated the townspeople
came to believe – grew in faith in Jesus. This past week we
heard the narrative of the man born blind. In that long
narrative, John demonstrated how that nameless man gradually
came to believe that Jesus was the promised one. The
Samaritan woman was a story that focused on water – sort of
as reminder of the narrative of the wedding at Canna. The
blind man story was about light – being able to see. And in
that seeing, that understanding, realizing God’s presence.
In Scripture when a key character is not named it is for us
to identify with that person.
This narrative this week about resurrection continues the
teaching about the growth of faith. This narrative tells us
the truth about Jesus is not understood. His miracles and
preaching make Jesus a sought-after celebrity. The
significance of this resuscitation of Lazarus has the effect
in faith expanding yet again; this time to understanding the
sonship of Jesus with the Father. He is truly, as the
Centurion proclaims in the gospels of Mark, Matthew, and
Luke, "Truly, this is the Son of God." John doesn’t mention
this Centurion’s proclamation. John’s gospel proves and
teaches Jesus is the Divine Son of God made flesh for us.
A
good question to ask after these three weeks of John is what
is our faith regarding Jesus and his presence in the world
two thousand years ago --- and is he present even now? Next
week we’ll witness him entering Jerusalem. We will recall
Jesus entering the seat of his kingdom. Even the struggle of
his spirit in Gethsemane, his arrest, the bogus trials, the
mockery, the scourging, the carrying the cross, his
crucifixion – none of that pain and suffering destroys his
reign. There is much for us to reflect on in these last
weeks of Lent. In remembering, consciousness, and awareness
of those events those events are present again. If we are
aware of the chaos and violence of our world in these
precipitous times, we’ll understand that suffering, pain,
cruel mockery, and dying continue. In our suffering, we are
meant to rise with Jesus after three days. That rising is
unexpected, often misunderstood, often mocked. If we have
grown in faith, as did the followers of Jesus, we’ll
understand and appreciate Jesus’ words: "I am the
resurrection and the life."
Dennis Keller
dkeller002@nc.rr.com
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3.
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WEEPING AT ANOTHER’S DEATH: 5TH SUNDAY OF LENT A
Ezekiel 37:12-14; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45
‘Jesus weeps’ with sadness at the death of his friend. He
does not hide his tears. But then he calls out: 'Take the
stone away;’ ‘Lazarus ... come out;’ ‘Unbind Lazarus and let
him go free.’ Clearly Jesus is the Master of life and death,
‘the resurrection and the life’.
Death comes in many forms other than our final exit. We may
feel that we have lost our grip on life, that we are broken,
defeated and destroyed. A kind of death may happen to us if
or when we find ourselves suffering grief, hurt, illness,
shame, humiliation, separation, or the end of our marriage.
The dreadful experience, whatever form it takes, may even
leave us feeling that we have no energy left, no future, and
simply nothing left to live for at all.
It’s not difficult to see Lazarus as a symbol for us all.
Perhaps many of us have felt at times that we too have ended
up in a tomb! Dead and buried! Cut off from life and the
joys of life! Languishing in some cold dark place! Helpless,
frustrated, bound up, and falling apart! Feeling too that
some huge boulder is blocking our path back to light, life,
and freedom! A boulder too heavy for us to roll away all by
ourselves!
A
particularly virulent form of living death is the disease of
alcoholism. It destroys not only the living physical organs
of the patient but also their world of meaning and
relationships. This has come home to me vividly in recent
years when I was offering support to someone who Is a
recovering alcoholic. One of the things he told me that will
always stay with me, is that until he finally turned to the
Alcoholics Anonymous programme of recovery, he was slowly
but surely killing himself.
Whatever form living death may take in our lives, we rarely
recover without a great deal of help from other people, help
which includes friendship just as much as professional
therapy. This is where we all come into the lives of others.
This is where we act like Jesus himself when he intervenes
in the death of Lazarus and the grief of his sisters Martha
and Mary. This is where we stand at the door of their tombs,
call out to them by name, and help the ones we love to get
up from their living death, rise to new life, and get moving
again on the road to recovery, the road to life.
So, it's a matter of being ready to be 'Godsends', in fact
agents and instruments of the Holy Spirit, to anyone who may
need us. It's a matter of being sensitive to, being
responsible for, and being compassionate towards. It's a
matter of caring enough, reaching out to, and being there
for. It's a matter of believing in, hoping that, and
supporting the struggling and stumbling ones, to get back on
track, and rediscover that life is worth living after all,
and that they still have a lot of living to do. Just as
Jesus wept at the loss of his dear friend Lazarus, so must
you and I weep at the plight of people who mean much to us.
We
cannot belong to Jesus without weeping with him at the tombs
of our fellow human beings, and calling them out of those
tombs into the light and love of God’s embrace. An
alternative Opening Prayer today, that celebrates Jesus as
our resurrection and our life, spells out beautifully what
our communion with him and one another leads us to do and to
be:
‘Father ...,’ we pray, ‘the love of your Son led him to
accept the suffering of the cross in order that his brothers
and sisters might glory in new life. Change our selfishness
into self-giving. Help us to embrace the world which you
have given us, that we may transform the darkness of its
pain into the life and joy of Easter.’
When the much-loved Pope St John XXIII was dying, he pointed
to the crucifix near his bed and told those standing around
him, that it was those open arms of Jesus crucified that
inspired his whole programme of life and work. What an
inspiration it is to you and me as well, to take our cue
from Jesus, not only weeping at the death and loss of his
close friend, Lazarus, but doing whatever he could, to
change death into life, darkness into light, and sadness
into joy!
‘But this Sunday Jesus stands at the entrance of our tombs
and calls us out of them’ (Richard Leonard SJ). So, for the
sensitivity that you and I need, then, to become aware when
a sister or brother is close to breaking-point, and for the
courage, compassion and generosity to step in and offer our
assistance as agents of Jesus our resurrection and our life,
the master of life and death, before it’s too late to make
any difference, let us keep praying to the Lord!
"Brian
Gleeson CP" <bgleesoncp@gmail.com>
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4.
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Year A: 5th Sunday in Lent (The Addict of Compostella)
"I am the resurrection and the life. If anyone believes in
me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and
believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
[John 11.25-26]
Most Jesuits, in fact I think most people who have done the
Spiritual Exercises, will tell you that the most difficult
time is the three days which Ignatius asks us to spend in
company with the Lord in the Tomb – the distance from Good
Friday to Easter Sunday.
It
is a cold, hard, lonely silent place, sitting in prayer and
imaginative contemplation of Our Lord’s lifeless body. It is
the end of Hope, the end of Expectation, the end of
Goodness, the Death of God.
And there, in that cold hard dark, lonely and horrible
place, Ignatius asks you to confront your own death –
-
the limit of all your hopes and expectations.
-
the Summit of all your fears
-
the End of all you have ever been or hoped you might become.
And not just your death, but also your failures, every one
of them.
And your Sinfulness – especially those mistakes and failings
that cannot now be rectified in our own lives. All the
things (and don’t forget we all have them) that we will
never get the chance to go back and put right. Ignatius
insists that we confront those things squarely, look them
full in the face and see them as they are.
Ignatius does this with a purpose, not just to give us a
hard time, but to break our hearts of stone. As he says, the
Soul eventually wearies of dwelling only on its own miseries
and begins to reflect on the miseries of all those who
suffer death, disease, darkness, cold and loneliness. And
that is why he gives us plenty of time to explore fully our
own miseries, so that we can ultimately move beyond them to
those who suffer also – and those who suffer more. And he
hopes that, in this way, to have us experience Easter as the
first disciples experienced it – as a huge rolling away of
the stone of death and evil. So that, when it comes, our
Resurrection is not just a personal salvation – it is not
just the immortal Ego that is "saved" – but a Resurrection
of our entire body and soul to the Service of God’s Way in
the World.
A
little story may help.
If
you ever do a pilgrimage, you will know that the road is a
place of encounter. Encounter firstly with yourself. If the
road is long and especially if it is hard, you will find
many times when you are alone and lonely, as the only
familiar person in your life. And you will find out things
about yourself. Some of them will please you and some of
them will not. Both will be part of your reality.
Next, encounter with the people you are travelling with. You
will discover a lot about them that you did not know,
weaknesses that you had not expected and strengths that you
had not perceived. Those weaknesses may disappoint you
bitterly; those strengths may surprise you with joy.
And most days you will meet new people and find new chances
of friendship and relationship. A number of my friends have
met husbands and wives on pilgrimage. And in all of that you
will have to trust that you will find the presence of God.
Well, as part of our training for the priesthood,
we
had to do a forty day pilgrimage over four hundred miles
through the north of Spain, from Loyola to Barcelona –
that’s nearly as far as London to Glasgow, sleeping rough
and begging for our food. And you wouldn’t believe the
amount of blisters we had. During the day it was so hot
that, in order to walk at all, we had to get up at five in
the morning to walk until about 11am, when it would get too
hot. Then we would have to take shelter in the culverts –
little tunnels - under the roads until the heat of the day
had passed and we could carry on. Physically, it was one of
the hardest things I’ve ever had to do.
But one of the really good things was that every evening I
would meet different people from all walks of life (quite
literally all walks of life) - old and young, rich and poor
alike - all walking the same way and all looking for the way
of God in their lives. One evening, I met a man in his
middle thirties. And when we sat to eat together, I noticed
that he didn’t just say an ordinary grace. He seemed really
to pray in thanksgiving for his food. So I went up to him
and asked him: "Are you a priest?" And he looked a little
surprised at the question and said: "No!"
"Are you a monk?" "No!"
So
I persisted and asked: "So why do you say grace like that?"
He
was silent for a little while and just looked at me as if
wondering whether to trust me. But one of the things about
pilgrimage is that it makes you very open with people. So he
said: "Because I am a drug addict, an alcoholic and a thief.
There was a time in my life when I was so sick that I could
not eat anything for 3 months. I thought I would die. So,
one night, he told me, he took a deliberate overdose – alone
– sleeping out rough in a shop doorway in Madrid.
By
the purest – most providential - chance he was found by a
policeman – a Guardia Civil - and taken to hospital. While
in hospital, his heart stopped twice, but the doctors
managed to restart it.
After ten days, mostly unconscious in the hospital, he woke
up, amazed to be alive. And, having been drug free for those
ten days, he found that he had another chance at life
It
was like he had been reborn.
And so he said: "That is when I began to pray - really pray.
And now, whenever I eat, I give thanks to God for the food
he has given me and for the life he has given me back in
which to enjoy it."
I
asked a little more and I found out that the reason he had
set out on this pilgrimage was as part of a prison sentence.
In his country, if you have a prison sentence of less than
one month, you can to choose to do a pilgrimage instead
lasting the same length of time. This was his sentence for
his offences with drugs.
I
have known many drug addicts, alcoholics and thieves and I
do not normally think of them as saints, but I left this man
knowing that I had been in the presence of Jesus. Jesus was
very much alive in his heart and in his life.
And I recognized him in the breaking of the bread.
Let us pray for Angelo, where-ever he is now.
And let us stand to profess our Faith in the God who saved
him and saves us all.
Paul O'Reilly SJ <fatbaldnproud@opalityone.net>
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5.
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Volume II Archive
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